Creativity U. — new art school opens

Published 4:00 pm Saturday, August 23, 2003

Considering that Bainbridge is home to so many artists – a 1997 survey showed one-fourth of all households claiming some income from the visual arts – one might wonder why local painters, sculptors, photographers and designers have to leave the island to go to school.

Islanders Amy Middleton and Chris Mills close the gap by opening The Art Center on Bainbridge, a school debuting with workshops this weekend. They envision the center as a space “to work, meet and learn.”

“I’m incredibly excited,” said Mills, who, in addition to his longtime custom flooring business, also teaches aikido. “It’s a dream come true.

“Part of it is, I really love teaching. It’s a great way to connect with people.”

The school is located in the same commercial complex as Mills’ business on Sportsman Club Road, across from Sakai Intermediate School, and features two 1,000-square-foot classrooms.

TACB is modeled on Seattle’s Pratt Fine Arts Center, founded in 1979 as a community art center to serve students of all ages and skill levels – as opposed to an academic program of accredited classes.

“I’ve had this dream for a long time to teach on the community level, not in the college system,” Middleton, who teaches at University of Washington and the Art Institute of Seattle, said.

Both founders call TACB “a work in progress” that can only be fully realized with input from the community; TACB founders invite all visual art stakeholders to participate in helping create the center.

“We really want to be responsive to the community,” Middleton said. “if people want a photography class, we’ll have one. I really wanted to create a space where everyone can participate, regardless of age and experience,” she said. “We really see this not just as a place for students, but for artists to have a place to come to meet. We really want this to be vital and alive.

“And we are committed to keeping it affordable.”

A recent Bainbridge Island Arts and Humanities Council assessment of cultural facilities identified more space for classrooms and workshops as the number one priority for many local artists.

TACB may someday become a nonprofit, but that process is back-burnered while the center gets up and running.

For Mills, opening the school means a re-dedication to the visual art career he set aside for 25 years to run a custom flooring business.

Born and raised on Bainbridge, he graduated from Seattle’s School of Visual Concepts and has worked as an illustrator and musician. He teaches martial arts at his own dojo, which will double as a TACB classroom.

“I’ve been an artist my whole life, but for the last 20 years I’ve been in the construction business trying to express my creativity any way I can (while) supporting my family,” Mills said. “But now I have this opportunity to produce art, and teach other people how to produce art.”

He will continue the focus on teaching children he’s had in his aikido classes for 10 years.

Middleton, who has taught college-level classes for nine years, brings the multi-disciplinary approach to teaching that she often uses in her own work – a blend of visual art, animation and performance.

The school found a third instructor in islander Kathryn Ault, an illustator and designer who teaches full-time at the Art Institute.

“It’s all come together very fast,” Middleton said. “Chris and I only began talking about the school six months ago, but we swiftly realized that we shared a common vision.

“We think that this has the potential to change lives and to bring people into the art community who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity.”

——–

The Art Center on Bainbridge offers eight-week classes for children and adults on oil painting, life drawing, pen-and-ink drawing, commercial illustration, fashion design and more.

Classes start Sept. 15. For information call 855-8802 or email theartcenter@ theriver.com.